Rich Tocchet has quite the year ahead of him. Not only is he gearing up for his first season as head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers, but he’s also set to represent Canada at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games.
Congrats, Tocc! ⏰🇨🇦
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) July 21, 2025
Flyers Head Coach Rick Tocchet has been named assistant coach of @HockeyCanada for the Olympic Winter Game Milano Cortina 2026. https://t.co/232LTzKEMn
Tocchet will serve as one of Canada’s four assistant coaches alongside Bruce Cassidy, Peter DeBoer, and Misha Donskov. Unsurprisingly, longtime Tampa Bay Lightning bench boss Jon Cooper will be Canada’s head coach. This coaching staff is identical to the group that led Canada to a championship at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.
While Tocchet has never appeared at the Olympics as a player or coach, he’s certainly no stranger to competing on an international stage. Aside from his appearance as an assistant at the 4 Nations Face-Off, he also represented Canada as a player three times — twice at the Canada Cup (1987 and 1991) and once at the World Championship in 1990. He logged six points in 10 games at the World Championship and combined for seven points in 15 games between his two Canada Cup appearances.
The upcoming Olympics will be the first Winter Games in which NHL players are eligible to compete since 2014. Rosters for the Olympics have yet to be publicly finalized, though Hockey Canada has already named six players to its preliminary roster, including Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Connor McDavid, Brayden Point, and Sam Reinhart.
Two Flyers players, Travis Konecny and Travis Sanheim, represented Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off and may be plausible candidates to join Tocchet in Milano Cortina as well.
Tocchet is viewed quite highly around the NHL for his ability to connect with players, so his inclusion on Team Canada’s coaching staff is anything but surprising. It may even pay dividends down the line for the Flyers, as Tocchet will have yet another opportunity to work closely with some of the NHL’s elite players, who may be looking to sign with new teams in the not-too-distant future.
*cough* McDavid *cough*.
